reduce voter registration fraud by numbering the forms??

[msongs]

what with many groups going around getting voter registrations at shopping centers and every other place you can think of, then tossing the forms of registered democrats, maybe we could cut down on this fraud if the states would print their registration forms with a number coded system, and people would have to return all the forms either blank, partial signed, completely filled out, or damaged. Make a huge fine for any forms missing.



Mongs
www.msongs.com/political-shirts.htm

[zalinda]

1. Won't work.........

they'll go into dem areas and use copies. Only way it would work is if it was a 2 part form, with a number to call or web site to go to, to verify registration. Then you have double protection.

zalinda

[NVMojo]

2. good idea

:toast:

[KaliTracy]

3. I've been saying this for a while -- there needs to be database

numbering -- for registration -- which would also be tied to voting!

Some say it's too much -- could be, but it still makes sense to me.

For registration -- Carbon Copy form with database number. Person Registering people has to sign registration form too. One copy for person doing the registering, one copy for person signing up to vote. The person registering has to sign out a certain number of registration forms (AE1110 to AE1160 for example). They keep that stack until it is gone. If registrations disappear, they have to account for the disappearance -- which would also go into an area of the database. If a person calls to say they haven't received their card, the loss is on record, they are asked to photocopy the receipt, or bring it in personally for processing. They should also be allowed to vote if they bring their receipt and have not received a card in the mail, especially if this record of "lost" registrations occurs.

Not sure when People in GOTV actually turned in their registrations when they were getting them, but turning in registration information could be done on a daily basis. With a few additional people hired at the State House -- this could easily be done. Reports can be run per precinct pretty easily too. I'm NOT a programmer, nor a database expert, though I've used Access to create some databases where I work. From what I know of it, it wouldn't be hard to build, and it wouldn't be hard to implement.

The most time consuming part would be to assign a number to those already registered. That's just data entry, and the number could be sent to the person with their poll place information.

Using this number is where people say it "wouldn't work" -- however I think -- no matter what kind of voting -- paper, optiscan, e-machine (I vote for paper) -- there needs to be a tie-in to the ballot , the poll book, and the person.

For example --
1. when you sign in, you sign the poll book and the poll person puts a sticker with your number on it on a tear off area of the ballot (see #2). You check if the number in the book and the number on the sticker match and check mark a box in the poll book.

2. the sticker goes onto a part of the ballot that is then detached after you are finished doing your ballot (it's not a part of your actual vote) -- the poll person signs the sticker when they attach it, with the signature touching the paper and the sticker.

3. After you vote, the detachable part goes into a separate lock box. A poll worker is there to verify that you are doing this. Your other ballot goes wherever that ballot goes (lock box, fed through optiscan, etc.).

Why so many signatures? the mantra of Database Design -- "Garbage In - Garbage Out" If you do not have a method in place to lock the signature to the poll-book, it's totally a waste of time.

I actually see this as a way to Ensure that PAPER ballots are done without the possibility of "stuffing" the box. I envision a booklet, with detachable pages. These could be color coded per race, or have a symbol at the top per race (triangle, square, circle, etc.) -- just so the initial separation of ballots is very quick and easy to do.

Each Race will have a check off box that states "I do not wish to vote for this race" to ensure that an "undervote" is intentional.

MANY cubbies could be set up in a polling place to complete the vote privately. The person rips the pages out of the booklet, and places them in a ballot sleeve. In this case -- the Database Number and poll person signature (same as above) are on the outside of the booklet. The voter shows the poll worker there are no pages in booklet, and drops the empty booklet in a separate lock box, and the ballot sleeve with the votes in a lock box.

The extra minute or so it takes to put the stickers on the ballot and sign the book and the sticker would be mitigated by the number of areas available for completing the voting process. NOTE: A voter would still have to wait to get to a cubby -- people could not be milling around filling these out. The problem probably would be having enough poll workers.

[formernaderite]

4. I think we should hand regsitration back to the county offices...

...having outside groups manage registration drives means the public has no idea if their registration will be filed. I know this worked well for the democrats previously, but when you read about the republicans literally creating new republicans where they didn't previously exist...this makes me nervous.

A few years ago when the Million Moms did their putsch( I'm very pro 2nd amd) in DC, they also registered voters. They also LOST many registrations which were most probably for our side. Boxes were tossed etc. I'm sure this effected voters in the mid-terms elections who believed they were registered.

Bottom line: outisde group regardless of political affiliation have less control over the registration process.

[bush_is_wacko]

5. I've been saying it for years. Computer technology has CREATED more

issues than it has solved.

IMO government should be run on the "old" technology...paper and pen! In the long run, this would save both time and money, just not trees. The ecology buffs will have to come up with a solution for that issue, but they better tread lightly. We now KNOW we cannot save a tree in lieu of saving our democracy.

The BEST thing that has come out of computers is the ability to get information on a ridiculously fast pace. Verification of that information is also now ridiculously fast. KNOWLEDGE is the best thing computer technology has given us.